What’s coming for religion in 2019? Here’s what the experts predict.

(RNS) — This year saw wave after wave of new revelations about the extent of the Catholic Church’s sex abuse crisis. It saw deadly hate crimes, the explosion of state-sponsored persecution against China’s Uighur Muslims, major #MeToo moments in a slew of congregations and faith communities, critical milestones for religious minorities on Capitol Hill, and the specter of schism among United Methodists and other Christian denominations.

What will we see happen over the next 12 months?

We asked scholars, faith leaders, activists and other experts to predict what changes the American and global religious landscapes will see after the New Year. Here’s what they suggest we keep an eye out for.

This post will be updated with responses through early January. The views expressed in these submissions, which have been edited lightly for length and clarity, do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service. Find last year’s predictions here.

Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin: Despite liberal anti-Israel push, American Jews will stick with Dems in the end

It seems clear to many American Jews that there are elements of the Democratic Party that are moving further to the left on Israel. They are moving from simply criticizing Israeli policies (which is common and often necessary), to flirtations with the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement, to outright demonization of Israel itself.

It also seems clear to many American Jews that there are elements of the Republican Party that are moving further to the right on the United States — wandering into nativist, anti-immigrant and, frankly, anti-Semitic territory. Oddly, ironically and tellingly, some of those Republicans are still fervently pro-Israel.

That being said, I predict that American Jews will increasingly find themselves to be politically homeless. And, that being said, I predict that most American Jews will reject the homelessness option and continue their historic allegiance to the Democratic Party. Read more.

Salkin writes the award-winning column “Martini Judaism” at RNS. He also serves as the senior rabbi of Temple Solel in Hollywood, Fla.

Scientists have been warning us for years that we must change our ways. They now warn us that we have only 12 years for global warming to be kept to 1.5 degrees Celsius or the risk of drought, floods and storms will worsen for millions.

My 2019 prediction is that churches and people of faith across the world will recognize the destruction of climate change and make a prophetic call to change our ways of living. This new year, the climate change problems that we have faced in 2018 will certainly worsen if we do not make conscious efforts to change our behavior and take action. Churches and religious organizations will recognize the urgency involved in changing our ways to fight climate change.Read more.

Kim is an associate professor of theology at Earlham School of Religion and co-author of “Intersectional Theology” and “Healing Our Broken Humanity.”

Simran Jeet Singh: American Sikhs will begin to conquer the skeletons in their closet

In 2019, Sikhs will make a concerted effort to address major issues within the community that have been ignored for far too long.

Many of these issues comport with discussions emerging across the rest of the country, such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse, LGBTQ+ rights and poverty.

Much of what has kept the Sikh community from openly acknowledging its deep-seated problems is concern for how it might reflect on the community.

However, the broader shifts in our national conversations, coupled with a heightening awareness of intersectional struggles and oppressions, have made it clear to the Sikh community that these issues are both systemic and corrosive. And we’re starting to see movement on these fronts.Read more.

Singh writes the “Articles of Faith” column at RNS. He is currently based at NYU’s Center for Religion and Media and is a senior religion fellow for the Sikh Coalition.

The Rev. David Gushee: Get ready for a new, post-white evangelicalism

I predict that in 2019 post-white evangelicalism will show signs of finding its footing. This will look like a whole lot of people trying to create new vision, new churches, new structures and new community, with less focus on all that is wrong with white evangelicalism and more creating of constructive alternatives.

Look for more church plants by people who have left or are leaving white evangelicalism and are not simply going to join mainline churches or leave church altogether. Look also for deeper rejection of the “whiteness” of white evangelicalism and intentional efforts to (re)unite with Christians of other ethnicities. Read more.

Gushee is the director of Mercer University’s Center for Theology & Public Life. He also wrote the popular RNS column “Christians, Conflict & Change.”

The Rev. Tom Reese: Catholics will loosen up on clerical celibacy — but for real this time

For 2018, I predicted that “This is the year the Catholic Church will get serious about discussing the possibility of married priests.” I guess I was a year too early in making my prediction. I fear that 2018 was all about the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.

But the problem of a shortage of priests around the world has not gone away; it simply got worse. There are not enough priests to provide the sacraments, celebrate Mass or give pastoral care to the Catholic people. So for 2019, I am repeating my prediction for the same reasons I gave last year.

In October 2019, there will be a synod for the Amazon, where bishops are desperate for priests. There is a good chance this synod will ask for married priests. At least, the debate will begin. Pope Francis is not afraid of such a debate. Read more.

John Gehring: Power to the Catholic laypeople

Photo courtesy of Faith in Public Life

As the clergy abuse crisis continues to shake the foundations of the Catholic Church, 2019 will be the Year of the Laity. Catholics in the pews are angry, disgusted and ready to act. Lay leaders will emerge to help save the church from itself. Institutional evil and abuse of power flourished because of a toxic clerical culture that allowed the hierarchy to operate under special rules. Those days are over.

In the wake of a sickening grand jury report in Pennsylvania that found systemic abuse and cover-up over several decades, the illusions that the problem was isolated or that bishops can police themselves have been shattered for good. I expect to see more whistleblowers bravely speak out — as the former executive assistant to Buffalo’s Catholic bishop did — publicly challenging a failure to confront predatory priests. Catholics will also assert control in dioceses and demand increased transparency as decisions regarding how to respond to clerical abuse devolve away from bishops to lay-led boards and commissions with greater independence.Read more.

Gehring is the Catholic program director at Faith in Public Life. He is author of “The Francis Effect” and a former associate director for media relations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Ahmad Greene-Hayes: Progressives of faith will have to start walking the talk

Photo by WELTHE Images

As a black scholar of religion and a leftist, my prediction is unapologetically a prophetic lament in the spirit of the African-American prophetic tradition.

Indeed, as anti-black racism, xenophobic violence directed at Latinx migrants, Islamophobic vitriol against Muslims, the burning of Jewish synagogues, the rape and molestation of children in both Catholic and Protestant churches and the unabashed disdain for black bloodshed in the streets continues to register as quotidian practice in the U.S., the gods of white supremacy, capitalism, imperialism, cisheterosexism, sexual violence and deceit will have to be earnestly reckoned with, and with urgency.

If not, in 2019, the “discomfort” and “discontent” expressed prominently by liberals and self-avowed progressives regarding the current U.S. presidential regime will remain mere lip service. Read more.

Greene-Hayes is a doctoral student in religion at Princeton University. He is the founder of Children of Combahee, a organization combating child sexual abuse in AfricanAmerican churches.

Jana Riess: Mormon Church will loosen institutional control, with some notable exceptions

I predict that 2019 for Mormons — meaning, for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — will be a year of many incremental and procedural changes, as the church continues to dismantle some of the institutional control of “correlation.”

For more than half a century, “correlation” has been the defining feature of Mormon institutional life around the world, centralizing all curriculum and programs under the single authority of a hierarchical priesthood structure based in Salt Lake City. 2018 already saw some of such dismantling, with the combining of local priesthood quorums, the discontinuation of church-wide home and visiting teaching programs, the announced exit from a century-long relationship with the Boy Scouts, and a lowered age requirement for children entering LDS youth programs.

But even as the institutional church softens its centralized stance in some areas, it’s hardened it in others, such as in the new insistence that the name “Mormon” no longer be used. Read more.

Riess writes the popular “Flunking Sainthood” column at RNS. Her latest book, “The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church,” will be published in March 2019.

Dalia Fahmy: Religion gets even more political around the world

The next year will see the weaponization and increased politicization of religion. The results of two years of packing federal courts with conservative judges will show how the scope of politicized religion in the U.S. is expanding. The women’s wave will continue, and more women than men will run for office. This will have implications on the abortion debate and women’s reproductive rights.

In Europe, Brexit will not only affect global financial markets but also have consequences for the border with Northern Ireland and the right to work for EU nationals living in the UK. Both these questions have politicized religious dimensions. The rise of nationalism and populism throughout the world, mostly right-leaning, has eaten into support for both traditional center-right and center-left. It has given voice to an alt-right movement that finds its justification in religious terms. In the Middle East, religious “reforms” in Saudi Arabia have served as a guise for further political repression. Read more.

Fahmy is an associate professor of political science at Long Island University and a senior fellow with the Center for Global Policy.

Mark Silk: Looking for a solution to the abuse crisis? Don’t sleep on the pope’s unprecedented meeting of bishops

The most surprising religion story of 2018 was the return of the Catholic abuse scandal at a full-blast level not seen in this country since 2002-2003.

As a result, Pope Francis has summoned the leaders of national bishops’ conferences from all over the world to a four-day meeting at the Vatican in February. Expectations for what is likely to emerge from the meeting are now being lowballed. What can be accomplished in four days? Won’t many bishops, especially from non-Western countries, push back against efforts to make them accountable?

I’m predicting otherwise. The pope recognizes how high the stakes are, and he has put in charge a small committee that is committed to addressing the need to discipline bishops who fail to handle abuse cases properly. Read more.

Silk writes the “Spiritual Politics” column at RNS. He is a professor and the director of the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College.

Aminta Kilawan-Narine: A year of fearless fights for justice

I predict that there will be revolutionary female faith leaders coming to the fore in all faith traditions, and that these leaders will emerge with unflinching support.

I predict that the #MeToo movement will exponentially grow and that, in turn, more survivors of child sexual abuse perpetrated by religious leaders will come forward to break their silence.

I predict that several progressive Hindus will run for office and ultimately win. By progressive, I refer to those who will champion the rights of the most vulnerable, fight for racial, economic and environmental justice, promote gender equity, advocate for the rights of LGBTQ people and fearlessly hold strong to their values, come what may.Read more.

Kilawan-Narine, a legislative attorney and community activist, is a co-founder of Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus.

Meira Neggaz: Expect Muslim political engagement to keep on the rise

Everyone knows American Muslims hit a major milestone this year with the elections of the first two Muslim women in Congress, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. But they were far from the only Muslims to run for public office in 2018.

But Muslims weren’t just running for office in 2018 — they were also registering to vote in increasing numbers. ISPU data shows that Muslim voter registration has increased from 60 percent in 2016 to 75 percent in 2018. While voter registration has gone up, satisfaction with the current president is lowest among Muslims in all the faith and non-faith groups we measured in our American Muslim Poll. We predict in 2019 American Muslims will continue to become involved in public life — as both engaged voters and public officials. Read more.

Neggaz is executive director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, a research organization studying American Muslims.

Bishop Karen Oliveto: The United Methodist Church will emerge as united and uniting

In 2019, United Methodist will engage our theological sources of scripture, tradition, experience and reason to recognize that whether you are conservative or progressive, straight or LGBTQ, immigrant or native-born, farmer or urbanite, cisgender or transgender, young or old, the 1 percent or the 99 percent, differently abled or the temporarily abled, living in North America or on another continent, or a uniquely beautiful skin hue in the human rainbow — all, by God’s abundant grace, are a part of Christ’s body.

All are necessary members, with vital roles to play, to make a beautiful, beloved community. The United Methodist Church will live into this more fully in 2019 and provide a critical witness to a fractured, hurting world that differences do not have to lead to division and unity is not the same thing as uniformity. Read more.

Oliveto is the the first openly lesbian bishop to be elected in the United Methodist Church. She serves in the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area.

The Rev. Johnnie Moore: Expect new alliances and major transitions for traditional institutions

Photo courtesy of The Kairos Company

In the digital, those who dwelled on the ideological edges of historic institutions, or whose thinking didn’t exactly align with them, are no longer forced to be a part of those organizations. They no longer serve as gatekeepers to influence, prosperity or change. The organizations will continue to hold major sway but a different type of sway, which will largely be determined by how they adapt.

Many of those historic organizations are now in once-in-a-generation leadership transitions, as baby boomers retire. I predict that many older millennials will jump their Generation X siblings in being selected for those positions.

Meanwhile, I expect global interfaith efforts to continue to accelerate especially between Christians, Muslims and Jews, and those activities will also extend to the Hindu community in particular because of certain geo-political dynamics in South Asia.Read more.

Moore is a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders and an informal spokesperson for the evangelicals who advise the Trump administration.

Bradley Onishi: The “exvangelical” movement will continue to grow

Earlier this month, CBS aired a documentary titled “Deconstructing My Religion,” which spotlighted the growing number of Americans who are leaving evangelicalismand speaking out about their experiences of trauma and abuse in theirformer communities. Ex-evangelicals have formed an active and growing online community under the hashtag #Exvangelical. My prediction is that the activism of #Exvangelical will continue to grow in size and impact.

Before they helped elect Donald Trump, white evangelicals were viewed by many fellow white Americans through the lens of the Simpson’s character Ned Flanders — at worst, an irritating group of religious people who pushed their views on others and propagated an unrealistic sexual and moral ethic. White evangelicals are now more often depicted as a dangerous cultural force whose support for Trump’s presidency reveals the racism and xenophobia that have long been at the heart of its politics. The rise of #Exvangelicalpromises to continue — and accelerate — this trend. Read more.

Onishi is an associate professor of religious studies at Skidmore College. He is the author of “The Sacrality of the Secular” and co-host of the Straight White American Jesus podcast.

Archbishop Joseph D’Souza: All eyes on South Asia, where religious nationalism is reaching a fever pitch

The world needs to pay close attention to South Asia in 2019. The rise of religious nationalism is already threatening freedom of expression and belief for religious minorities, and with general elections in South Asia next year, tensions are bound to get higher.

In countries such as India, which has the world’s largest Hindu population and the second-largest Muslim population, tensions between the two communities have resulted in deadly incidents of mob violence. Some politicians are exploiting these tensions to incite communalism and polarize electoral blocs across religious lines. So-called cow vigilantes are prowling the streets and carrying out extrajudicial executions against anyone remotely suspected of hurting the sacred animal. A person’s religious identity is becoming the litmus test of his or her citizenship. If the government fails to act and hold responsible those who incite religious hatred as well as those responsible for attacks against religious minorities, next year will see an increase in violence and clashes. Read more.

D’Souza is moderator bishop of the Good Shepherd Church of India, president of the All India Christian Council and founding president of the Dignity Freedom Network.

The Rev. Jack Graham: American Christianity’s fate hinges on local churches

We are living through one of the most turbulent times in American history. Racism, gun violence, drug addiction, sexual abuse, religious intolerance, immigration issues — you name it — abound at an alarming rate. How Christians respond to these challenges will determine whether the church in America will flourish in 2019.

I believe 2019 can be the year of the local church, because all of the issues America is facing start at the local level. Churches that are committed to on-the-ground ministry in their communities — being the hands of Jesus to migrants in need, helping people who are battling mental illness or drug addiction, building bridges of unity where there is racial division — will flourish. Read more.

Graham is the senior pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas.

The Rev. Ronnie Floyd: Christians will set aside differences to unite in faith

One of the greatest challenges followers of Christ will face in 2019 will be making sure that our faith is what defines us and nothing else.

If we do not stay grounded in God’s Word, centered on Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, then we will act, look and sound much like the divided and polarized culture around us. We need to remember Jesus did not say we would be known by our creeds or our doctrinal statements or by what denomination we belong to. He said we would be known by one thing alone: our love for one another. But for that to happen, the church in America must overcome its own divisions and rise as one.

We are not black churches, we are not white churches, we are not Latino churches, we are not Asian churches, we are not Native American churches — we are the church of Jesus Christ, and the people of Jesus should be known by their love. Read more.

Floyd is the president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force and senior pastor of Cross Church in Springdale, Ark.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper: Remembering the stranger

Religions are meant to be a source of blessing for humankind. In 2019, multifaith leaders have a long way to go to gain respect from believers and atheists alike.

We must find our collective voice to protect Christians in Nigeria from continuing murder and mayhem from the likes of Boko Haram. We must forge effective global coalitions to urge Beijing to allow Christians and Muslims to adhere to their faiths, as destroying churches and dispatching hundreds of thousands to internment camps is unacceptable in 2019.

We must lobby for the forgotten from Myanmar, Syria and Iraq still languishing in refugee camps; we must take the lead on both sides of the Atlantic to denounce skyrocketing anti-Semitism, history’s oldest hate. Read more.

Cooper is associate director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

About the author

Aysha Khan

Aysha Khan is a Boston-based journalist reporting on American Muslims and millennial faith for RNS. Her newsletter, Creeping Sharia, focuses on Muslims in the U.S. Previously, she was the social media editor at RNS.

130 Comments

Endure the cross that they carry in their lives of faith in response to the ransoming Fatherly love of God through the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of His own beloved Son, Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and the savior of the rest of the world: That’s what born-from-above, fired-up and die-hard followers of THE Christ Jesus of the gospels, epistles and revelation, all resolve to do in 2019:

(1) “[INSTEAD OF] making sure that our faith is what defines us and nothing else … [and] help[ing] save the church from itself … [and] gain[ing] respect from believers and atheists alike”!

(3) “[INSTEAD OF] champion[ing] the rights of the most vulnerable, fight for racial, economic and environmental justice, promote gender equity, advocate for the rights of LGBTQ people and fearlessly hold strong to their values … [and] being the hands of Jesus to migrants in need, helping people who are battling mental illness or drug addiction, building bridges of unity where there is racial division … [and] recogniz[ing] that … all, by God’s abundant grace, are a part of Christ’s body”!

I am simply stating a fact, which the article confirms. Now if you want to give your reason for the decline, that would be more mature and Christ like than to attack me- wouldn’t it? You are one of the reasons I left the church after 30 years. I couldn’t take any more of the childlike behavior. Thank you for confirming my decision once again. Be sure and block me too, rofl.

Very interesting story but very unbalanced in terms of representation of the varous faith based organisations in USA and the world. Please try for greater balance henceforth. The world has changed and is changing.

(1) ‘Evangelical’ will became a quasi-ethnic cultural/political designation and we will begin talking about ‘secular Evangelicals’ in the way that we already talk about ‘secular Jews’ and ‘secular Muslims’. And, not within this year, but down the road, though there will be some ‘religious Evangelicals’ just as there are some ‘religious Jews’, secular Evangelicalism will become the norm.

(2) Mainline churches will continue to collapse. First, because perhaps half a century ago their leaders and policy makes lost their nerve, embraced the Cultured Despiser’s assumption that supernaturalism was untenable, and set out to sell themselves as purveyors of secular goods —social service, political activism, and psychological care—all of which secular organizations provide cheaper and better. Secondly, because the one thing they have not been willing to change has been the assumption that clergy are in a position to provide wisdom, leadership, and ‘prophetic witness’ to a benighted laity.

Bishop Karen Oliveto: The United Methodist Church will emerge as united and uniting – Karen, the lies your assembly espouses are the reasons people lose faith in the church. Perhaps if you indicate that your assembly is not Christian because it does not follow Christ, less people will be harmed by you and yours

(1) As it currently stands, “evangelical” refers to a way of looking at, interpreting, and implementing the Gospel. On the other hand the so-called “progressive” camp has joined forces with the LGBT lobby and formed a quasi-ethnic cultural/political cult-like following.

(2) The mainline churches continue to grow. The outliers such as the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ that threw their lot in with folks in (1) are dying rapidly.

” You are one of the reasons I left the church after 30 years” One would think after 30 years, one would be able to take responsibility for their own decisions.
And boy, if they knew you 30 years ago, they certainly rejected a lot of useful data

Both you and Sandi are not only correct, but painfully correct. The chopping block–the real one–has arrived.

Lesbian Oliveto probably isn’t reading this thread, but here is a REAL Methodist preacher who I bookmarked months ago. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that THIS guy has accurately predicted their Final outcome in 2019.

Predictions are supposed to represent reasonable estimates based upon considerations other than personal preference. These are more wish lists and utopian dreams than predictions. There’s are strong doses of enmity on one hand and whistling past the graveyard on the other. I have a prediction that I guarantee will prove 100% right. Will the stock market go up or down? Answer: Yes.

The Episcopal Church went through this same process. It is now half the size it was when that began 40+ years ago, it is continuing to shrink, and various lawsuits between the 815 Second Avenue folks and the grassroots continue.

As your author suggests, once you sever contact between Scriptures and belief and practice, you’ve begun the final dance.

Somebody whose name rhymes with Mrs. Pat Hetic sure doesn’t know his own “Nones”-sense: “patrick … 18 hours ago … God is allowing the ‘nones’ to be fruitful and multiply”?!

According to Michael Lipka and David McClendon, however (in Pew Research Center, April 7, 2017, “Why people with no religion are projected to decline as a share of the world’s population”):

“In coming decades, the global share of religiously unaffiliated people … which includes atheists, agnostics and those who do not identify with any religion in particular … is actually expected to fall, according to Pew Research Center’s new study on the future of world religions. … [Their] growth is projected to occur at the same time that other religious groups – and the global population overall – are growing even faster. … [And so] people with no religion will make up about 13% of the world’s population in 2060, down from roughly 16% as of 2015. This relative decline is largely attributable to the fact that religious ‘nones’ are, on average, older and have fewer children than people who are affiliated with a religion … [and because] the number of deaths will begin to exceed the number of births to unaffiliated mothers by 2030 [in Asia and] by 2035 … in Europe … [And because] the Christian population in China is rising while the religiously unaffiliated population is falling … – religious ‘nones’ could decline as a share of the world’s population even more than the Pew Research Center study projects.”

No, but I’ll tell you what is: “irondrake … a month ago … 6 months ago … [believing that] ‘the word God’ is highly different than ‘God’ … [and] Bible is full of people who sought asylum in other countries” – “is strange.”

HEY YOU OKAY THERE?! Why are you so desperate for “evidence for an invisible man in the sky”?! 1st off, “an invisible man” is an impossibility! 2nd, “an invisible man in the sky”, underwater, in your tub, on the stove, inside a volcano, next to your shoes, or anywhere else is even more of an impossibility! AND YOU DEMAND EVIDENCES FOR 1 AND 2?! What are you – ASHIEST OR EGGNOG-STICK?!

That’s why I said “painfully” correct — it’s clear that this Final Outcome is what nobody would hope for.

You are witnessing the destruction of a major U.S. denomination, (one that, once upon a time, helped play a big role in Christian revivals and reforms). It’s a tragedy. The bomb will hit in less than 60 days, and there will be hot shrapnel that will burn for years. Hopefully you will read the attached article in my previous post.

Of course the good pastor didn’t say any thing of the kind. He doesn’t take a side in the article, he walks straight down the middle. He said that the two sides have fundamental, distinct and unchangeable differences with regard to understanding of Scripture. Period.

The UMC is pretty good about passing the topic down the line. The special conference may well just do more passing the ball. More studies. More committees. More delays. There may yet be no casualties or shrapnel.

Christianity is the mainline religion in the United States, with 75% of polled American adults identifying themselves as Christian in 2015. Of them, 62% of those polled claim to be members of a church congregation. The United States has the largest Christian population in the world, with nearly 240 million Christians.

The Catholic Church by itself is 24%, with over 70,000,000 registered members in the United States (22% of the US population).

The second-largest church and the single largest Protestant denomination is the Southern Baptist Convention, with just under 16 million members.

The United Methodist Church is the third largest church, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest.

The United Church of Christ has about 850,000 members. At one time it was much larger. When the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC it had over 2,000,000 members. By 1980 its membership was about 1.7 million. In 2006, the UCC reported 1.2 million members.

This is pretty much the same trajectory that the Episcopal Church has followed.

The reasons for the decline appear to be similar.

For example, when the 2005 United Church of Christ Synod voted to approve same sex marriage, three fourths of the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico (United Evangelical Church of Puerto Rico) voted to withdraw from the UCC.

To call either “mainline” in the face of these facts seems pointlessly argumentative, but be my guest.

“…. We have valued our Christian roots and our Wesleyan heritage. We have valued the historical creeds and John Wesley’s sermons. We have valued the doctrine of the Trinity and justification by faith. We have valued our theological understandings and our Social Principles. We have valued our understanding of grace, as well as of love of God and neighbor. We have valued the unity of the body of Christ and our distinct witness to the world. ….”

“…. The reality is that we are not of one mind any longer. Individuals, clergy, congregations, conferences, bishops and outside groups have dug in their heels and sincerely believe they are right and others are wrong. They are working diligently to influence and promote their positions. An enormous amount of time, energy and money is going toward winning the denomination. ….”

However, he didn’t say anything like you claim, “sever[ing] contact between Scriptures and belief and practice. From the one article, no one would have any idea which side of the argument he himself falls on.

It makes “mainline” a synonym for “progressive liberal” or “a church which sees things my way”.

It would not have passed muster just a half century ago since the adjective really originated as noting church lineage, prestige and influence, the adjective “mainline” deriving from the rail phrase “main line”, a chief railway line, in an age when rail was king.

At that point the Episcopal Church had a great deal of prestige and influence, all of which it has since squandered.

As you’re looking at it, as long a dozen folks own the name “United Church of Christ” or “Episcopal Church”, those denominations are “mainline”.

CORRECTION, Mrs. Pat Hetic: “The ‘Nones’ will look-on with glee as “the global share of … those who do not identify with any religion in particular … fall[s] … [and] in 2060 [goes] down from … 2015 … and [as] religious ‘nones’ … decline as a share of the world’s population even more than … project[ed].”

Food for thought on what is coming for religion – perhaps in the long run and applicable in its vision to all the major religions around the world.

“I believe that the subject matter is of utmost importance, because we are in an axial age like that of ancient Greece. Religion is being challenged to attune itself to the greater understanding we now have of history, bible studies of many sorts, the new physics, psychology, cosmology, and sociology. If religion does not coincide with and reinforce our experience of life, it is useless and doomed to die. It is only in life that we can experience God, which is the reason and purpose of religion.”

These are words from Rev. Brother Thomas Paul Draney CFC, from his blog “Reclaiming the Eucharist as a Meal” here: http://www.reclaimingeucharistasmeal.com/ Br. Tom passed away last month. I believe he was 90 years old.

While Br Tom’s beliefs and orientation in belief were formed under Roman Catholicism, I think what he has to say is important to all major religious groups who live out of fundamental tenets of faith shaped by the limits of language, knowledge, culture of centuries ago.

Sadly, it is true that the most conservative religious folks tend to have more kids than more liberal folks — of whatever label. Then too, the “overbreeders” are unconcerned that overpopulation fuels the climate change that threatens our whole planet.

I started seminary at Perkins School of Theology at SMU in Dallas in the Fall of 1984, The definition in the Wiki is exactly what it was there, then. As well as, the folks that I met from other seminaries at different gatherings.

I can see why. No mainline coherent Christian denomination with the chance of a snowball in h-ll of surviving another 100 years endorses your fundamental take on sexuality.

But … if you can joint something like the Episcopal Church, put a “MAINLINE” sticker on it, and claim a mainline or a number of mainline denominations see it your way, by the time Gamaliel’s counsel takes effect, and it is kaput, you’ll be gone.

So, no, the Episcopal Church ceased being mainline about the time its membership had dropped by 50%.

CORRECTION: “Liberal folks” are “overbreeders” much more than “conservative religious folks”!

(1) “Governmental measures to reduce population have been opposed both by religious conservatives and by many liberals, especially liberal feminists. Liberal critics have claimed that ‘utilitarian’ population policies violate a ‘fundamental right of reproductive liberty’.”

(2) “By the 1980s, neo-liberal and socially conservative demographic revisionists, grounded in the Demographic Transition Theory (DTT), were promoting population skepticism and pushing population concerns out of the sphere of public debate. … For neo-liberal policy makers, the attempt to guide people’s reproduction smacks of leftwing statism and curtails their reproductive freedom, in the same way that regulations prevent the adequate functioning of the economy. The invisible hand of the market is presented as a solution for the population problem, since economic freedom necessarily leads to rational behaviour, which includes making the right reproductive choices … The link between neo-liberal proponents of economic and population growth is not fortuitous. … We have entered a stage of ‘liquid modernity’, predicated primarily on consumption, rather than production … Growth is an inescapable part of such a social arrangement. Consumption creates the need for more commodities that, in turn, require more consumers to purchase them. The population needs to increase to maintain economic growth and the economy has to expand so that the growing population keeps its living standards, the two expansionist trends feeding upon one another in a vicious circle from which there is no escape.”

If you’re not the right sort of Christian, then you pray to your version of god that their version of god will fail. It’s been the way of Christianity ever since the first querulous old man waved a shaky finger at another querulous old man, and hissed between his teeth, “Heretic! Burn him.” Or since Paul informed his Christian brethren that any one selling promulgating or delivering a different version than his of Christianity would be cursed by god himself.

Whichever came first.

I do have to note that Christians attacking the body of Christ in the name of Jesus has a certain irony to it. But strike while the irony is hot, I always say. I’m sure that Jesus will have a great deal to say about that come judgment day.

Speaking Truth to power and debunking fake news are the challenge for the religious leaders. Unfortunately the loud mouth evangelists that espouse wholesome family values while paying homage to brothels, indulge in extra-marital affairs and priests that are not really celibate will further sabotage the sanctity of religion per se. There are not many who would care to differentiate between pseudo religious practitioners and Divinely established Religious Principles.

“It has become increasingly apparent to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention, that what a good deal of conservative religion has become obsessed with is power, money, and dominion, from the sociological and political end of things, and revenge, from the purely psychological. “

***

Nothing has changed at all. What “conservative religion” signifies is traditional morality, morality opposed to the LGBT agenda that BiO supports.

It was opposed to the LGBT agenda when it was not an agenda, and it remains just where it was then.

It is, in fact, the LGBT agenda which is obsessed with power, money, dominion, and revenge. The Masterpiece case illustrated that. The LGBT lobby is in common cause with the so-called “progressives”, who also see traditional morality as the enemy. That is accurate – it IS their enemy.

***

“The flash point for many of these movements, as always, seems to be the place of gay people and of women in society, because nothing seems to get some people so excited as that.”

***

Except, of course, it is the LGBT lobby and their friends the so-called progressives who keep bringing it up, pushing against traditional morality, demanding this or that as a “right”, and otherwise keeping the temperature on “high”.

***

“If religion is no longer answering the needs of people— and in the case of the RCC in particular, is acting antithetically to those needs— people WILL leave, as Yoikes has testified. Religion is simply creating problems, problems which it cannot address, and will not address. And it is no longer providing answers for many people, and when it does, the answers are frequently wrong.”

***

Except religion is NOT shrinking, IS answering the needs of the people, and it has demonstrably been the so-called “progressives” and the LGBT lobby within the churches which have acted antithetically to those needs. Within the Catholic Church it has been the Gay Mafia. Within the rapidly disappearing Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ it has been a coalition of the so-called “progressives” and the LGBT lobby.

***

“It’s simply not a surprise that the two trends in Mark’s graph are converging, and very likely, are going to cross.”

***

This conclusion illustrates two logical fallacies: the “Bandwagon Approach” fallacy, a subset of argumentum ad populum; using historical statistics to forecast the future.

Studying historical statistics can be incredibly useful when trying to explain what happened. But identifying a trend in statistical data does not translate into a forecast for the future. Statistics is an explanatory tool, not a predictive tool.

This doesn’t even enter into the lack of context from Gallup as to how the questions are posed. That is exactly what led Gallup to miss the 2016 election outcome.

“It has become increasingly apparent to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention, that what a good deal of conservative religion has become obsessed with is power, money, and dominion, from the sociological and political end of things, and revenge, from the purely psychological. “

***

Nothing has changed at all. What “conservative religion” signifies is traditional morality, morality opposed to the LGBT agenda that BiO supports.

It was opposed to the LGBT agenda when it was not an agenda, and it remains just where it was then.

It is, in fact, the LGBT agenda which is obsessed with power, money, dominion, and revenge. The Masterpiece case illustrated that. The LGBT lobby is in common cause with the so-called “progressives”, who also see traditional morality as the enemy. That is accurate – it IS their enemy.

***

“The flash point for many of these movements, as always, seems to be the place of gay people and of women in society, because nothing seems to get some people so excited as that.”

***

Except, of course, it is the LGBT lobby and their friends the so-called progressives who keep bringing it up, pushing against traditional morality, demanding this or that as a “right”, and otherwise keeping the temperature on “high”.

***

“If religion is no longer answering the needs of people— and in the case of the RCC in particular, is acting antithetically to those needs— people WILL leave, as Yoikes has testified. Religion is simply creating problems, problems which it cannot address, and will not address. And it is no longer providing answers for many people, and when it does, the answers are frequently wrong.”

***

Except religion is NOT shrinking, IS answering the needs of the people, and it has demonstrably been the so-called “progressives” and the LGBT lobby within the churches which have acted antithetically to those needs. Within the Catholic Church it has been the Gay Mafia. Within the rapidly disappearing Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ it has been a coalition of the so-called “progressives” and the LGBT lobby.

***

“It’s simply not a surprise that the two trends in Mark’s graph are converging, and very likely, are going to cross.”

***

This conclusion illustrates two logical fallacies: the “Bandwagon Approach” fallacy, a subset of argumentum ad populum; using historical statistics to forecast the future.

Studying historical statistics can be incredibly useful when trying to explain what happened. But identifying a trend in statistical data does not translate into a forecast for the future. Statistics is an explanatory tool, not a predictive tool.

This doesn’t even enter into the lack of context from Gallup as to how the questions are posed. That is exactly what led Gallup to miss the 2016 election outcome.

By 2050 world population is expected to reach 10 billion, which is simply unsustainable. Scientists are generally agreed that population growth must be reined in. The Ford administration’s 1975 NSSM 200 report spells it out. All one needs to do is look at the whole picture of climate change and all of its components and concomitants to see this.

“It has become increasingly apparent to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention, that what a good deal of conservative religion has become obsessed with is power, money, and dominion, from the sociological and political end of things, and revenge, from the purely psychological. “

***

Nothing has changed at all. What “conservative religion” signifies is traditional morality, morality opposed to the LGBT agenda that BiO supports.

It was opposed to the LGBT agenda when it was not an agenda, and it remains just where it was then.

It is, in fact, the LGBT agenda which is obsessed with power, money, dominion, and revenge. The Masterpiece case illustrated that. The LGBT lobby is in common cause with the so-called “progressives”, who also see traditional morality as the enemy. That is accurate – it IS their enemy.

***

“The flash point for many of these movements, as always, seems to be the place of gay people and of women in society, because nothing seems to get some people so excited as that.”

***

Except, of course, it is the LGBT lobby and their friends the so-called progressives who keep bringing it up, pushing against traditional morality, demanding this or that as a “right”, and otherwise keeping the temperature on “high”.

“If religion is no longer answering the needs of people— and in the case of the RCC in particular, is acting antithetically to those needs— people WILL leave, as Yoikes has testified. Religion is simply creating problems, problems which it cannot address, and will not address. And it is no longer providing answers for many people, and when it does, the answers are frequently wrong.”

***

Except religion is NOT shrinking, IS answering the needs of the people, and it has demonstrably been the so-called “progressives” and the LGBT lobby within the churches which have acted antithetically to those needs. Within the Catholic Church it has been the Gay Mafia. Within the rapidly disappearing Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ it has been a coalition of the so-called “progressives” and the LGBT lobby.

***

“It’s simply not a surprise that the two trends in Mark’s graph are converging, and very likely, are going to cross.”

***

This conclusion illustrates two logical fallacies: the “Bandwagon Approach” fallacy, a subset of argumentum ad populum; using historical statistics to forecast the future.

Studying historical statistics can be incredibly useful when trying to explain what happened. But identifying a trend in statistical data does not translate into a forecast for the future. Statistics is an explanatory tool, not a predictive tool.

This doesn’t even enter into the lack of context from Gallup as to how the questions are posed. That is exactly what led Gallup to miss the 2016 election outcome.

• A constant cycle of reincarnation until enlightenment is reached and belief that various beings (angels?, tinkerbells? etc) exist that we, as mortals, cannot comprehend makes for a no on Sikhism.

Added details available upon written request.

A quick search will put the kibosh on any other groups calling themselves a religion.

e.g. Taoism

“The origins of Taoism are unclear. Traditionally, Lao-tzu who lived in the sixth century is regarded as its founder. Its early philosophic foundations and its later beliefs and rituals are two completely different ways of life. Today (1982) Taoism claims 31,286,000 followers.

Legend says that Lao-tzu was immaculately conceived by a shooting star; carried in his mother’s womb for eighty-two years; and born a full grown wise old man. “

The dilemma: love is the root of all good, and most evil. The love that drives mammals, including humans, to nurture and protect their own, in humans, with our capacity for abstracting and universalizing,will continue to push into xenophobia, rejection of those “not like me,” and will make a virtue of preemptive attacks on THEM, the enemy, those who want to “persecute” my kind. Religion will not solve this problem.

Child, you’ve already barged in here making a fool of yourself. I wonder now if perhaps you aren’t another of Legion’s fake accounts in how you have come to his defense in so many recent posts. MC/BC and now NJ. I can’t help but suspect.

Ok first of all, I’m probably a lot older than you suspect I am in real life, and you’ve definitely made yourself look like the bigger fool. All you’ve done so far is make personal attacks instead of logical arguments, so you’re really discrediting yourself here.

I get it, I get it, you’re caught off guard because you’re so used to your echo chamber of ideologies you agree with. You’re just not used to seeing people who have beliefs contrary to you… and make logical cases for them!

Listen bro, I’m just an observer here. And after reading all his comments, there’s absolutely nothing trollish about them. Either you’re easily offended, or he actually does act like a troll on other articles (which I won’t dismiss). I don’t know what kind of person he is, and maybe he really is a troll who just insults people all the time, but after seeing what he’s posted here, I have no reason to believe that.

Now you have two options:
1. If you’re insistent on your point, then provide some clear examples on where he acts like a troll.
or 2. Keep up this childish tirade and not provide anything substantial. If you choose the latter then I will start to ignore you.

HAHAHHAAAA THAT SHOWED HIM! HE OBVIOUSLY WAS MAKING FUN OF MY STUPID ARGUMENTS SO I JUST TOOK THEM LLLITERALLY AND SO NOW NATHAN”S GOING TO BURN IN HELL! HA!!!

Seriously though, are you just antagonizing me, ironically, or are you legit trolling me? Because if the latter is true, then you are one funny little troll. I think you’re just joking around because, theologically speaking, Jesus doesn’t burn people in Hell, nor does He send people to Hell. People go there by not choosing to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But, um, anyways, I would be quite remiss to not include:

HAHAHHAAAA THAT SHOWED HIM! HE OBVIOUSLY WAS MAKING FUN OF MY STUPID ARGUMENTS SO I JUST TOOK THEM LLLITERALLY AND SO NOW NATHAN”S GOING TO BURN IN HELL! HA!!!

Seriously though, are you just antagonizing me, ironically, or are you legit trolling me? Because if the latter is true, then you are one funny little troll. I think you’re just joking around because, theologically speaking, Jesus doesn’t burn people in Hell, nor does He send people to Hell. People go there by not choosing to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But, um, anyways, I would be quite remiss to not include:

HAHAHHAAAA THAT SHOWED HIM! HE OBVIOUSLY WAS MAKING FUN OF MY STUPID ARGUMENTS SO I JUST TOOK THEM LLLITERALLY AND SO NOW NATHAN”S GOING TO BURN IN HELL! HA!!!

Seriously though, are you just antagonizing me, ironically, or are you legit trolling me? Because if the latter is true, then you are one funny little troll. I think you’re just joking around because, theologically speaking, Jesus doesn’t burn people in Hell, nor does He send people to Hell. People go there by not choosing to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But, um, anyways, I would be quite remiss to not include:

“Caught me”? What are you even talking about?
Ok, I’m suspecting that you’re just joking around now. You’re just kind of repeating your angry comments every time. Either that or you’re autistic or something. But eh, I don’t think so.

There are two type of people in this world, the first one are those who believe in spirituality and the other one are those who doesn’t believe in spirituality. Spirituality is something which is purely based on people personal belief and doesn’t have any scientific backing. Spirituality provides mental and emotional strength, inspiration and motivation. Therefore many people find comfort in spirituality. Please check the following video on “Manifestation of Magic.”